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Trans-Pacific Partnership will Create ‘New Millennium Model for Trade’ 
According to the U.S. Grains Council, the current Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) proposal is ground breaking in terms of its scope, terms of trade and anticipated geopolitical impact. “The agreement will offer significant opportunities for new sales of U.S. agricultural products and could significantly alter current trade patterns as it expands and as new trade partners express interest in joining,” said USGC Chairman Terry Vinduska.

The TPP is currently a nine-country partnership that seeks to create a “new millennium model for trade,” said Vinduska. “Participants are in the process of working through the details of new market access offers and sectoral agreements to facilitate trade flows.”

Participating countries include the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Brunei, Singapore, Peru, Malaysia and Vietnam.

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From US S&D Outlooks to Pricing DDGS: USGC Consultants Promote US Advantage in Korea
Producing less than 3 percent of the total domestic demand, Korea has historically been the world’s second or third largest feed grain import market. Recognizing the valuable buyer-seller relationship the United States has with the country, the U.S. Grains Council sent two consultants to a feed grain trade seminar in Korea to talk about issues relating to U.S. corn supply and demand as well as how to price distiller’s dried grains with soluables (DDGS).

“In regards to U.S. supply and demand outlooks, there was some concern over the smaller October 2010 crop size,” said Joseph Kapraun of GROWMARK Inc. “I emphasized to the audience that while the crop size was below U.S. producers’ expectations, it was still the third-largest crop we’ve ever produced. Also, the 2010 crop is of much better quality than the 2008/2009 crop, in part due to less stress cracks,” he said.

Sol Kim of TransCoastal Supply Co. Inc., discussed with seminar participants how to price DDGS as there was interest among attendees in how to properly do so. “DDGS is a CBOT traded commodity, but it’s not really being utilized yet,” Kim said. “It’s still primarily a flat priced commodity, and it doesn’t always follow the trends of other ag commodities; so we discussed some of the factors that can affect the price of cost and freight of DDGS as well as China’s voracious demand for the product.”

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USGC Confident in US Corn Supply
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered corn yields and total corn production from its October estimate yesterday, U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Thomas C. Dorr noted that the decrease was generally anticipated and within expectations.

“Projections that ending stocks will reach levels last seen in the mid-1990s could create some additional volatility in the marketplace, but this is not uncharted territory. While market ups and downs do occur, they do not alter the position of the United States as a reliable supplier of grains,” Dorr said.

In its World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimates report, USDA forecast corn yields at 154.3 bushels per acre, down 1.5 bushels from last month but still the third-largest on record. Yields at that level result in a 2010/2011 crop of 12.54 billion bushels, also the third-largest on record. A year ago, 13.1 billion bushels were produced thanks to extraordinary record yields, while in 2008, 12.1 billion bushels of corn were produced.